Tuesday, September 6, 2011

A vegetable soup diet has the dual advantage of being very nutritious as well as low in calories and contributing to weight loss. As a result, it forms the core of many different diets and it is possible to even design your own soup diet and select ingredients according to personal preferences.

There are some important matters to consider no matter which approach you take to a vegetable soup diet - whether to adopt one that is known to be popular or concoct a recipe of your own.

SACRED HEART MEMORIAL HOSPITAL DIET

1. Canned foods tend to have a high salt content, so try to avoid these in your soup if possible.

2. Potatoes have a high glycemic index - they are absorbed more readily into your bloodstream, so use these in the mix sparingly, if at all.

3. Many cookbook recipes for vegetable soup also specify a lot of salt, so be alert to this and keep the content as low as possible. The presence of sodium salt encourages water retention in the body, so adds weight.

4. Use as many fresh vegetables as possible.

Here is a nutritious, delicious and easy to prepare recipe and daily plan for a 3 day diet which will shed about 5 lbs weight:

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can of beans or lentils

1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes

Several sticks of celery

1 large onion

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

16 oz pumpkin, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

Seasoning as preferred

Beef or chicken stock, as preferred

Cover with water and boil for 10 minutes, then simmer until the vegetables are tender.

No alcohol or bread to be consumed.

Day 1: Eat only fruit and soup today. As much as you like of both, spaced throughout the day with about six meals to minimize hunger. Do not include bananas in your diet.

Day 2: Eat veggies today, along with the soup. Again, as much as you like in about six meals spaced throughout the day. The veggies may be cooked or raw. Give preference to green leafy veggies if possible. At dinnertime, a treat is allowed in the form of a baked potato with butter.

Day 3: Have all the soup, veggies and fruit that you want but no potato.

After 3 days of this diet, you should be about 5 lbs lighter and can return to moderate helpings of your normal diet. If you have problems with bowel movements, a cup of bran will help.

As outlined, this diet is intended for a period of only 3 days, with a break of 4 days normal eating before following the diet again.

A variation of this diet which covers a 7 day period is based on the SacredHeartDiet. It aims for a weight loss of 10 lbs:

Day 4: Because your body now requires additional potassium, carbohydrates and calcium, eat at least three bananas throughout the day and drink as much skimmed milk as you want. Also have at least one serving of soup.

Day 5: 10 - 20 oz of meat is allowed - beef, skinless chicken or broiled fish. Not fried. Have up to six tomatoes, along with at least one serving of soup.

Day 6: 10 - 20 oz of meat is allowed - beef or skinless chicken, not fried. Also as many veggies as you want, especially green leafy ones. One or more servings of soup.

Day 7: As much soup as you like. As well, cooked veggies, brown rice and unsweetened fruit juice is permitted.

By the end of day seven, it's likely that you will be at least 10 lbs lighter.

This vegetable soup diet plan has plenty of nutrients as well as protein and carbohydrates. It is not intended to be adopted as a lifestyle and some may find it too stringent to follow. However, a weight loss target of 10 lbs requires that some persistence must be shown to achieve this. The practices outlined offer a useful guideline for changes in eating habits that may allow further weight loss if this plan is only loosely followed (or adapted to your needs) beyond the seven days.